Novel Lightweight Magnets for Space Applications

The Tai-Yang Research Company (TYRC) of Tallahassee, Florida, will design, build and test a superconducting magnet system optimized for low current space based applications. Adiabatic demagnetization refrigeration (ADR) for milli-Kelvin sensor cooling is enabled by the use of superconducting magnets to eliminate ohmic heating. Present systems use low temperature superconductors and require significant cooling system power to operate the magnets. TYRC's proposed superconducting magnet will operate at higher temperature and lower current than systems presently available, and will therefore reduce the total system burden. In Phase I, TYRC successfully demonstrated a method for producing a high temperature superconductor optimized for the low currents (< 10 amps) required for space based magnets. In Phase II, TYRC will produce several small test coils from the optimized conductor to develop the manufacturing technology. TYRC will design a demonstration magnet with input from NASA personnel to address mission requirements. TYRC will then manufacture and test the demonstration magnet to validate the design. At the conclusion of the project, TYRC will be positioned to supply low current superconducting magnets optimized for space based ADR systems identified for NASA missions.